


Stars

by ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish



Series: Ree [34]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Blood and Injury, Escape, F/M, Fanfiction, Gun Violence, Killing, Long Shot, Multi, To Be Continued, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 19:35:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13441833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish/pseuds/ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish
Summary: Ree teams up with an unlikely partner and the gears of her plan are set in motion. This is the moment she's either done for, or free at last. 2nd Long shot of Ree & Hancock (And Valentine).





	Stars

The mutant didn't charge me, which was a huge relief, but didn't really make me comfortable. Was it drugged? It just stared at me, even though it could easily reach and grab me, or swing one of the huge fists and at least give me a deadly blow.

I licked my lips. This was beyond unnerving. I couldn't know what it would take to set the mutant off, so I simply had to gamble. Double or nothing.

”Hey friend”, I tried to speak with soft, low voice. ”You want to get out of here?”

I had very little of expectations. Vince had told me that this particular mutant had been captured because it showed more intelligence than normal super mutants, but I didn't know on what level.

It was like the mutant's face didn't have anything else to express than anger. My words didn't seem to resonate, or at least it didn't show a spec of understanding. However, when I opened my mouth again, the mutant grunted something.

”Small human not one of them.”

”Um- no”, I replied cautiously. ”I'm not with the Institute. I'm a prisoner like you.”

Again the mutant fell silent, but didn't look away for a second. Was he thinking? This was indeed outside of everything I had ever learned about mutants. He hadn't attacked me, but observed me and had made the conclusion that I'm not with the people who had captured it.

”I'm trying to get out”, I continued. ”But I need help. I need... a distraction. While I'm getting a key to unlock the door.”

”Human want out”, the mutant slowly growled. ”Shield want out.”

”Your name is Shield? Okay. I'm Ree”, I attempted a smile. ”You understood what I said? I need you to cause trouble. So nobody will see me. When I get the key, we can _get out_.”

I saw the mutant squeezing the massive fists hanging from the thick, muscular arms. Clutching the laser gun I took a step back, just in case. I doubted that one gun alone would be much of a defence, at least not from a short distance.

”Human has a plan”, Shield finally said. ”Human will get us out. Shield helps.”

”Great”, I replied with a relieved breath. I had practically held my breath for the whole time while the mutant had considered my words. 

”Listen. When we open that door over there,” I pointed at the door at the very end of the hallway, ”You need to make as much trouble as you can. Grab anything you can use as a weapon. I'll get the key and head to the big door in the main hall. Then you can follow me and we'll get out. Okay?”

I constantly watched his face, trying to figure out if he could follow my explanation. I was afraid that if he couldn't, he'd rather kill me and try to escape by himself. Which, I was sure, was probably impossible even for someone like him.

”Shield goes out”, mutant grunted angrily. ”Then follow small human.”

” _Yes_! Exactly”, I agreed and picked up the synth arm, which I had dropped when the cell door had opened. I might still need it – it would be difficult to handle the gun and hold the arm at the same time, but it couldn't be helped.

”Let's-”

Before I could finish the sentence my peripheral vision registered movement from the direction of the main door. The door had opened and a person stepped in with two synth guards behind him. I instantly recognized the man, of whom I had seen several times back in the mess hall – I didn't remember his name, but he had worked at the Institute infirmary.

We all froze for a split second, except for the super mutant. He charged at those three without any hesitation whatsoever, and before I could do or say anything the mutant had smashed the Institute doctor's head against the wall.

The synth guards acted fasted than I did, and opened fire at the super mutant. Shield, however, grabbed the body of the doctor and threw it at the synths. This gave me a precious moment to gather my bearings and jump forward, so that I could squeeze myself behind a corner. From there I started shooting with the laser gun – I didn't have time to aim, so I just concentrated on not hitting the mutant. Which was easier said than done; the mutant was as wide as a barn door and directly between me and the guards.

But Shield didn't need my help. He had his strength, size and rage. It didn't look like the guards got a shot at him, or if they did, it didn't slow him down. He got to them and I saw the synths get bashed together. Throwing the lifeless bodies next to him the mutant glanced back at me. Behind him I could hear the sounds of alert, people shouting and running.

”Human get key”, Shield roared. At least one of the guards had managed to hit him, because he had a scorched streak on the right side of his chest. Then he turned around and ran through the open door.

”Fuck”, I grunted and wanted to run after him, but it was like my legs were rooted to the spot.

Stumped, I looked down and expected to see something holding me still, but there was nothing there. When I realized that I was just paralysed with fear, I lost it.

”Don't you _dare_ ”, I shouted with frustration and fixed my gaze at the doorway. ” _MOVE!_ ”

Unwilling to do what I commanded my feet felt almost too heavy to even lift up, but with sheer willpower I forced them off the ground and on the move. When I was again the master of my own body, I darted through the door, still holding on to the severed synth arm.

Outside was chaos. Shield was doing exactly what I had hoped; he was throwing anything or anyone off his way, using his fists like sledgehammers and drawing all the attention to himself. Synth guards were trying to restrain him and force him in a corner, but Shield had none of that.

Nobody paid any attention to me as I ran past them. They didn't even acknowledge the laser gun I was carrying – they were far too preoccupied with the green monstrosity trashing their base and killing off anyone who ventured too close. The Robotics Lab was already deserted when I entered there using the synth arm and the key card inside it. As I had predicted, the doctors had called it a day just moments before I had left my quarters with Vince.

I knew where I should look, so I dashed directly to Dr. Parker's desk. It had neat piles of paper on top, a password protected terminal and a coffee cup, plus other small objects. I dropped the arm and put the gun on the seat as I started searching for the key card. My ticket out of here.

Feverishly I swiped off everything on the table and barely paid attention when the mug fell down and broke into small, sharp pieces. Nothing on top, but then again, I wasn't surprised. Who would leave something like that just laying around in everyone's sight?

I began pulling the drawers out and flipping them upside down, so that anything they held was scattered on the floor. Nothing but papers in one, second held some random metal pieces and circuits, third... Third had a small lock on it and wouldn't even budge. I had no time to search for the key, so I did the next best thing. Grabbing the gun I pointed the drawer with it and shot at it. Rather than the lock just busting open, the whole front board shattered and some of the papers inside burst out. Some of them were burning.

Cursing out loud I threw the gun away and pulled out everything the drawer contained. I got burned by the smoldering paper stacks, but small burns would be the least of my worries if the item I was looking for wasn't there. When my fingers met with something small and flat, I drew my hand back and looked at the metallic card with something coded on both sides of it. It had Dr. Parker's name on it and the etched letters under it spelled LOBBY.

I drew a quick breath and stood up, squeezing the card in my hand, when the door opened and I saw Benjamin Parker stepping in. He was clearly in a hurry and he was holding his other arm like he had been hurt. When he saw me, his first reaction was relief.

”Ree, thank goodness. You saw the mutant out there? Damn, I was sure the cells were secured, I have no idea what happened...” his voice died when his eyes wandered down and saw the mess on and around his desk. ”What are you doing?”

I took a step sideways so that the gun resting on the chair was behind me.

”Ben”, I used his first name and kept my voice steady. ”I'm getting out. If you don't try to stop me, I'll just leave and nothing else happens. Please, don't stop me.”

My breathing was heavy from all the panic and adrenalin, and my whole body was shaking. I wanted to avoid unnecessary killing, but right now he was standing between me and my escape route.

”You know I can't let you do that. Ree, think. There's nothing worth dying out there. You can have a good life here. A life without fear. You could learn so much. You'd have a real meaning.”

I saw that there was no reasoning with him. Bending my knees I fumbled the gun behind me, but didn't break our eye contact.

”You're wrong. I have everything out there.”

He made a quick movement towards a cabinet which, I assumed was holding weapons, and I swung the laser gun in front and took a blind shot. The blue beam hit his torso and just when he had raised his arm to reach the cabinet, his whole body seemed to ignite. He simply transformed into a vague, glowing shape, and before hitting the floor he was already nothing but ashes.

Okay, that was gonna stay in my nightmares for a while.

I left the synth arm where I had dropped it, since I didn't have any further use for it. The situation outside was still going on. As I threaded my way past the people and synth guards I saw that Shield was slightly overwhelmed with the guards and their laser guns, but didn't show any signs of being badly injured. That meant I still had some time left.

The main hall door was unguarded, and I had a hunch that every able synth guard was back in the other hall where Shield was literally destroying the place.

With trembling hands I pressed the card against the lock pad. I heard barely audible beep, when the mechanism recognized the card and the big door slid slid aside. The short hallway behind the door was like from another time. The Institute hadn't bothered fixing up anything they weren't using, so the hallway instantly reminded me of the Vault where I had my life changed forever.

I drew a deep breath and shouted Shield's name back where I came from, and hastily made a run for it. I didn't dare to stay in place and wait to see if he had heard me. The metal door at the end of the hallway was numbered as 77. Opening it revealed another short, dark passage, which had only one, smaller door at the end of it. It was dark, but I could make out the words EXIT ZONE painted on the white-ish door.

The excitement inside me didn't leave room for calm thinking. When the door slid open I was just few short leaps from two synth guards. They didn't stop to ask questions – instead they opened an immediate fire at me. I hunched down and practically rolled behind some metal crates looking for shelter.

I pressed my back against the wall and held the gun tightly in my hands, ready to shoot at them if they'd come closer. The intensive firing didn't seem to have an end and I started to fear that either these guards would kill me, or then the others from inside would make it here and hunt me down.

Then I heard vigorous stomping from the hallway coming this way. Shield pushed himself through the door and attacked the guards. He had bleeding wounds everywhere and he left a stained trail behind him, but either he didn't notice the pain or didn't care.

As the guards focused on the rampaging super mutant, I slammed the door closed and started pushing the crates in front of it. The second synth guard noticed me and started blasting me with the laser gun, and I got shot in my right shoulder. Yelping I dropped down, but the pain didn't come through right away. The adrenaline in my blood gave me two precious seconds and I used them well; the blue beam from my gun hit the synth's head and he fell backwards.

At the same time Shield had somehow broken the first guard in half. I glanced at my shoulder and saw only a superficial wound – the clothing on the spot had been burned off and the skin underneath looked like I had been burned with a hot iron. There was just a little blood, too, so I guess you could call me lucky.

”Quick! Barricade the door! Anything you can find, block the door with it!” I shouted and clutched my shoulder. It still hurt like hell.

Shield didn't ask any questions, just started doing what I told him and pulling the crates and shelves against the door. I noticed he was limping, and hoped that there wouldn't be anyone outside the Vault. I didn't know if we could manage any more guards.

I hurried to the Vault control board behind the synth that laid on the floor, ripped in two. I had seen one of these before, back in the Vault 111, but the Vault door had been opened by someone by the time I had gotten there. Looking further I saw the huge, round Vault door. It was tightly shut, of course.

I studied the board – the big, red button didn't do anything when I pressed it down. So I needed something more. What?

”Human get door open”, Shield grunted wearily, but there was no doubt a clear threat in his voice.

”I'm thinking, shut up”, I didn't bother to watch my words. Shield wouldn't kill me just yet, he still needed the way out and he knew he wouldn't be able to do it by himself.

I crouched down and started examining the synth guards. The one that was in half had something on his arm and my eyes widened. A Pip-Boy? Could that be the missing key element? I hadn't seen anyone else in the Institute wearing one.

The Pip-Boy came easily off of the synth's arm and I clamped it on my left arm. Turning it on took a minute, during which I heard faint banging from the other side of the door. Shield had done a good job barricading it, but the metal crates wouldn't keep the Institute away for long.

When the OS of Pip-Boy was up and running, I noticed that I could pull out some sort of plug out of the device, and that the control board had a place for the exact match for it.

”Please let it be right”, I breathed and plugged the Pip-Boy with the control board. 

Immediately the computer on my arm announced that the Vault door remote access was ready. I slammed the red button down and a big, drill-like machine in front of me came alive. The warning, orange sirens started buzzing and Shield was looking around, growling loudly.

The activated machine moved by the Vault door and attached to it. With high-pitched screeches the machine worked for a moment, until the large, gear-shaped door made a loud bang.

I quickly pulled the plug out from the control board and grabbed the gun. The noises behind the door were louder now, as the synth guards and other Institute members were attempting to get through to us.

As soon as the Vault door had rolled aside, I took one look back at the barricaded door and then followed Shield out. I was tired, out of breath and shaking, but somehow I managed to run. The surface below my feet changed from echoing stone to soft earth, and I found myself next a big rock wall in which the Vault door had been embedded.

It was dark outside, but I could make out thick clusters of trees and large bushes, which no doubt camouflaged the entrance well. I pushed through them and got deep scrapes everywhere from pointy needles and branches. I didn't hear Shield's stomping anymore, so he probably had chosen another direction or just moved so fast that I couldn't keep up. Either way, our deal was done, so there was no reason for him to make sure I'd stay alive out here.

I wheezed and made far too much noise, but I wanted to get as far from the Vault as I could. I had no idea where I was running and whether I'd bump into something nasty, but right now the most important thing for me was to escape.

After some time I stumbled, rolled and crawled more than ran. I was dead tired. I was still inside a forest with no visible roads. There might have been a road, or a path leading to the Vault, but it had been impossible to see it in the darkness.

I literally had no idea how long I was on the move. It could've been half an hour, or two hours. But when I was done, I really was done. My body gave out, and I had to stop to lean on a tree and throw up.

When my stomach was empty and only lightly cramping, I wiped my mouth in the jacket sleeve and looked around. The forest had grown darker and even when my eyes had adjusted better, it was really difficult to see anything. Only the Pip-Boy on my arm glowed and gave me some faint, green-ish light.

With no better plan I crawled between two thick trees which grew almost side to side. For a moment I only heard my heart thumping and blood flowing in my veins, and nothing else. After a long, long while, I could make out the sounds of the forest around me; wind rustling the dry branches. A crow flying over. Something howling in the distance. But no steps, nothing charging at me or shouting after me.

_Did I do it?_

Lifting my gaze up I had to swallow. The sky was clearing up. Behind the dark clouds I could see the stars, twinkling and forming magnificent constellations. I looked at those bright, faraway lights as they turned blurry and I started crying.

I had never loved the stars as much as I did in that moment.

 


End file.
